Bruce Bushman: The Disney Years
“If it fits you, Bruce, it’ll fit anybody.” Walt, Roger Broggie, Bill Martin, and Bruce Bushman were checking out the latest progress on the various rides Arrow was building for Disneyland: Mr. Toad, Mad Tea Party, Dumbo, revitalization of an old carousel, and this last one, Snow White. Each of the guys climbed in to make sure adults could ride comfortably alongside a child, and Bruce, being relatively large, was the ultimate test. He fit, though rather snugly, and Walt pronounced that thereafter all ride vehicles for the park would have to fit Bruce.
Bruce Bushman was the son of famous silent-film actor Francis X. Bushman. Bruce would continue in the movie business, but as an artist, joining the Disney Studio in the late 1930s. He was a layout artist on Pinocchio, co-art directed the Nutcracker Suite sequence in Fantasia, and worked with Harper Goff on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In 1953 he became one of the ever-increasing number of artists being transferred to WED to work on the initial designs of Walt’s wild idea.
Bruce is standing directly to Walt’s left.
Bushman proved to be exceptionally good at translating film subjects into experiences for children. He had dressed up as Santa Claus for years before the DL project came along, and he watched the little ones as they immersed themselves in the wintery, fantasy environments. He also spent time with Dave Bradley, local kiddie park owner and builder of rides. And so he was the perfect individual to head up much of the designs for Fantasyland, which was all about allowing guests to step inside their favorite animated classics.
One of the challenges was finding a manufacturer that could translate Bruce’s whimsical designs into physical ride mechanisms. The first attempt with an outside vendor didn’t go well, and so Walt, Bruce, and Dick Irvine flew up to Mountain View to check out a tiny amusement ride manufacturer who specialized in kiddie rides. Walt looked around, briefly interested in a set of small cars modeled after Model Ts. But nothing seemed to fit what he was looking for, so he turned to leave. Bruce pulled him aside and explained that they needed someone to build these things, and the little Model Ts could probably be adapted to the concepts for Mr. Toad. Bruce became the negotiator, back and forth between Walt (by now in his infamous “arched eyebrow” mode) and the gentlemen from Arrow. Bruce showed them his drawings for the Toad vehicles; the Arrow guys saw nothing more than cartoon art, wondering about all the work needed to turn this into an actual ride vehicle. Bruce finally asked them if they’d be interested in building one car, to see how it goes. With no discussion of fees, no contract, no nothing, Arrow had to make this work if they were to land the job. (They did, received a contract for building several DL rides, lost money on the whole deal, got reimbursed by Walt, then later was instrumental in several major attractions for Disney such as the water flume rides like Pirates and Small World, and of course, the innovative Matterhorn coaster.)
Bruce developed concepts for a number of attractions. For a spinning teacups ride, he originally had a 12-ft high Mad Hatter along with Marsh Hare in the center, offering up cups of tea to the whirling riders. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was initially conceived as a roller coaster-style experience (Walt nixed that as being too intense). He also worked on Dumbo, with his early concepts matching the vibe of the film, taken from the nightmare scene, which was a bit more frightening (it got toned down). The figure of Timothy Q. Mouse that stood in the center was sculpted by Blaine Gibson based off Bruce’s drawings; Harriet Burns had the task of painting it after it had been installed at the top of the ride.
The Chicken of the Sea restaurant was a stationary pirate ship in Fantasyland. But Bruce’s idea was to put it on a large turntable, slowly revolving and giving diners a panoramic view of the surrounding park. Walt really liked it, but it got cut for being too expensive.
He dreamed up a few more rides that never made it to construction: a Donald Duck bumper boat ride and a windmill Ferris Wheel. A crocodile aquarium, where guests would walk through a croc’s mouth into a simulated underwater environment, viewing exotic fish. Monstro the Whale, however, was the biggest thing that never went forward. It was a thrill ride based on Pinocchio, and riders would float past various scenes from the movie before being dropped down a twenty-foot flume inside Monstro’s mouth, shooting out the bottom as they escaped the angry great whale. Of course, Monstro himself would stick around as part of a much more tame attraction, Storybook Land. For this iteration, Bruce originally wanted to feature tubs instead of boats. Walt thought boats were a more refined mode of conveyance, so boats it would be.
Walt wanted a majestic carousel prominently positioned in the land. But he wanted all horses, not a typical merry-go-around. Working with Arrow, Bushman found a 1922 carousel at Coney Island, bought additional horses, and even altered some of them so they were all “jumpers.”
One attraction not as well known, and one that would only last a brief time at the park, was the Phantom Boats (originally Tomorrowland Boats). These were trackless boats that suffered constantly from motor troubles; Bruce had designed the boats.
Along with the concepts Bruce created, he also put his stamp on Fantasyland overall, refining designs for Peter Pan and Mr. Toad, applying a color palette to the Casey Jr train that followed the movie but also fit into the surrounding land. He was instrumental in ensuring a cohesive overall look of Fantasyland.
Diving full-tilt into television, Walt decided to produce a children’s variety program, the Mickey Mouse Club. As Art Director, Bruce designed the show’s look and created the famous show logo.
Back at the park, in 1957 Walt was interested in something related to either pirates or ghosts. He assigned Bruce and Duane Alt to come up with concepts for a walkthrough wax museum. What would eventually become the Haunted Mansion went through a tortuous, ever-changing journey to come to life (or rather, death).
Bruce Bushman would soon afterward leave the Disney organization, first working for Ivan Tors, a producer of television series at the time. But then he went on to Hanna Barbera, and as part of that job he developed concepts for an HB park that was never built. These were the genesis of work that would be adapted into the beloved lands we all know, starting with Kings Island.
And that is what we will look at next time.
For more information check out these resources:
https://www.inventingdisneyland.com/2018/05/bruce-bushman-disney-legend.html
https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/folio/folio-bruce-bushmans-disney-designs
https://waltsfolly.com/2021/04/20/the-father-of-fantasyland/
Three Years in Wonderland, Todd James Pierce
The Disneyland Story, Sam Gennawey
Images were found at these sites, although most of them are copyrighted by the Walt Disney Company. The photo of Walt and his guys inspecting the ride vehicle at the Arrow plant is from http://arrowdevelopment.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-little-historical-overview.html.
